Flags of the American Revolution

Sons of Liberty

This flag represented the group formed by Samuel Adams to protest the Stamp Act. It was also known as the “Rebellious Stripes.”

Bedford Flag

This flag was present at the Battle of Concord. The Latin inscription “Vince Aut Marire” means “Conquer or Die.” The original can be seen at the Bedford Town Library.

Green Mountain Boys

This flag was carried by the men under the command of Ethan Allen. Its green field represented their name, and the thirteen stars was a tribute to the thirteen colonies.

Philadelphia Light Horse Troop

This troop escorted General Washington from Philadelphia to take command of the Continental Army in Cambridge, MA. They later carried this flag in the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Princeton, and Trenton.

Bunker HillWhen the British

advanced up Breed’s Hill they saw this early New England flag. The colonists still saw themselves as British subjects but were declaring their right to be free from violations of their freedoms.

Culpeper, VAThis flag represented a

group that formed part of Colonel Patrick Henry’s First Virginia Regiment of 1775. In October 1775, 300 minutemen assembled at Culpeper Court House and marched to Williamsburg.

Washington’s Headquarters

This flag was flown at the headquarters of General Washington during most of the American Revolution.

Grand UnionThis is considered to

be the first flag of the United States, used from late 1775 until mid 1777. In the canton was the flag of Great Britain, indicating continued loyalty, and the thirteen stripes represented the thirteen colonies.

Washington CruisersThis was used by

Washington on his squadron of six schooners which he outfitted at his own expense in the fall of 1775. It was later modified and used by the Massachusetts Navy.

Continental Navy Jack

This flag may have flown aboard the Continental Fleet’s flagship, Alfred, in January 1776. Some people believe that they used a red and white striped flag, like the flag of the Sons of Liberty. There isn’t any real evidence either way.

Gadsden FlagThis was first used in

1776 by the commander of the New Continental Fleet, Commodore Esek Hopkins. The designer, Colonel Christopher Gadsden of S.C., then presented it to the Continental Congress.

Fort MoultrieThis flag was carried

by Colonel Moultrie’s South Carolina Militia when the British were defeated in Charleston in June 1776. This saved the south from British occupation for another two years.

Betsy Ross FlagThis flag was

adopted on June 14, 1777 (Flag Day). “That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

Bennington Flag

On August 16, 1777, the American militia defeated a large British raiding force and saved the military supplies in Bennington, Vermont.

Serapis Flag

In September 1779, this flag was flown over the Bonhomme Richard during its epic battle in the North Sea with the British frigate Serapis.

Cowpens Flag

This was first carried by the Third Maryland Regiment. They helped General Daniel Morgan win a decisive victory over the British at Cowpens, S.C., on January 17, 1781.

Guilford CourthouseThis flag was raised

over Guilford Courthouse, N.C., on March 15, 1781. The Americans stopped the British advance through the Carolinas in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Star Spangled Banner

This was the official flag of the United States from the early 1790s, when Vermont and Kentucky were added to the Union, until 1818.